By Jason Feldman

Post-Bulletin, Rochester MN 

Tommy Carr put the offer out to Ian Torchia late last school year: Train with me this summer. We'll make each other better. We'll make our team better.

"I didn't really do that much training (the previous) summer," Torchia said. "This past summer, it helped a lot. We really pushed each other."

Carr's mentorship has paid off, for himself and Torchia, his Rochester Lourdes teammate.

Carr, a senior, will make his third and final trip to the Class A state cross country meet this weekend. He'll have a shadow in tow, as Torchia, just an eighth-grader, will head to state for the first time.

More evidence that Torchia has turned into Carr's disciple: When asked in separate interviews what their goals were for the upcoming state meet, both had the same answer.

"Under 17 minutes," they each said.

They'll have their chance to break the 17-minute mark as the Class A boys race is set to begin at 1 p.m. Saturday at St. Olaf College in Northfield.

"He was our No. 3 or 4 runner last year (as a seventh-grader)," Carr said of Torchia. "He has knocked a lot of time off. It's ridiculous for someone his age. He's something else."

The two struck up an uncommon friendship -- they're four years and seven inches apart. Torchia is a diminutive 5-feet-2, but his strong sprinting skills and his endurance help him keep pace with the taller, more experienced runners.

Eagles coach Myron Glass recognized Torchia's improvement immediately this fall. But, did he think Torchia could get to state at such a young age?

"You always hope, but as an eighth-grader ...," Glass's voice trailed off as if to say "you're never sure." In fact, Torchia is just the second eighth-grade boy to qualify for state out of Section 1A in the past 25 years. Plainview's Pat Lehman did so in 1988.

Glass said he knows Carr is a big reason why Torchia has improved dramatically this year.

"Tommy and Ian put in a good, hard summer," Glass said. "When Ian started racing and was able to keep up with Tommy ... well, he had a good mentor."

Torchia has been to the state meet before, as a spectator. He'll get to walk the course prior to Saturday's race, but Carr has experience running on it in pressure situations. He went to state as a freshman, when the Eagles qualified as a team, and last year as an individual, when he placed 63rd out of 156 runners.

"It's definitely nice to know the course and I won't be as nervous at the start," said Carr, who will run cross country and track at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, beginning next fall.

Carr said breaking 17 minutes is a top priority on Saturday and he would love to earn all-state honors. Torchia doesn't feel a lot of pressure heading to his first state meet; by getting there, he has put a checkmark on his mental to-do list that was created during his off-season runs with Carr.

"It's something I thought about all summer," Torchia said.

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